How I Saved Myself $750

Communication is an art. It's nice to be able to put it to use sometimes, and in a different language at that!

...the following takes place between 10am and 11am.

I thought I could deal with having to pay two months' rent to this place even when I'm not even going to be here. I thought I could deal with the fact that these mean people would have the key to my apartment that is MINE by contract until September 30, while I was paying for it...meaning they could rent it out again if they wanted to and make double the money... I thought I would just give them the money and go home and be fine with it.

No. After being here almost 8 months with two more to go, I realized that was NOT going to fly. I found someone who needs a room for those two months and was told I was not allowed to sublease it. So this morning I went in there, where I sat for about 20-30 minutes while she told me all the reasons why it wouldn't work, and I told her I had stuff to pay for at home and this kid really needs a place to stay... and I kept asking "why can't you make an exception for exchange students; they HAVE to move out in July, PLUS we are foreigners and have essentially no idea how to get an apartment in a foreign country anyway. They always offer rooms here to exchange students and everyone has to pay out the butt to stay here even when they have to leave two months earlier. She even told me that two years ago everything was different and it may have worked then. She told me over and over again that she couldn't change anything, that I knew what I was getting into when I signed the papers, etc. etc. and asked me "Do you understand?" and I said "NO. Why can't you make a new contract? You can give him a contract for two months, you CAN make an exception, I have OTHER THINGS TO PAY FOR."...

And then I cried a little. Not because I'm super dramatic, although I am very proud at how dramatic the moment must've looked like... I was VERY frustrated and angry at how unfair they are to exchange/Erasmus students. Here, everyone gets money for everything. Most students get money from their parents and have to pay about $300 per YEAR to go to school in this region. And even for the regions that do have tuition fees, its like $700 a semester. That's NOTHING compared to what we have to pay. Not that I pay anything anyway, but it's still not cheap for me and just because I HAVE money, doesn't mean I have to spend it on stupid things like rent when I'm not even living there!!!!!!!!

She immediately printed me out a lease cancellation form. I signed it and Voila! I don't have to pay the rent for the last two months of the contract. I KNEW it was possible! Exceptions can ALWAYS be made and I learned this from working in customer service for 5 years (it doesn't take long to pick up on that, though). There are always exceptions, always always always.

I am moving out on the 15th. Hopefully I can find someone here in the Wohnheim that will take me in until my cousins come to pick me up on Saturday the 19th.

Now I just gotta wait for the guy getting my room to reply to the lady's email saying he will go through with it (he'll have to pay both months rent + €400 bond (which he will get back) up front... which he will be fine with, I think... he's a medicine student from Hamburg, which means the kid must have some dough. :-)


Caitlin